NEW YORK -- Every time he toes the rubber, fluttering knuckleballs out of his effortless motion that dance past opposing hitters, leaving them shaking their heads, R.A. Dickey’s improbable transformation becomes more and more remarkable.

When the Mets gave Dickey an opportunity to be a part of their rotation out of pure necessity earlier this season, they had no idea that he’d become a revelation. A true model of consistency. A pitcher that they can trust to keep them in the ballgame, no matter how much his style differs from the norm.

Dickey’s stellar performance in yesterday’s 5-1 Mets’ victory over the Astros, one in which he allowed one run over seven innings, while going 2-for-3 with two runs batted in, no longer seems like an aberration anymore. It has become an expectation.

And it appears as though everyone -- from his teammates, to the fans and even the media -- are pulling for Dickey, a truly genuine person who has never taken any of his stunning success for granted, to keep it up.

His future with the Mets, though, remains somewhat cloudy at this point. He’s arbitration eligible, meaning he’s still under team control. For a hurler currently ranked 10th in the majors in ERA (2.57), a hurler who has done everything his team has asked of him and more, a raise seems little more than a formality.

Not that Dickey -- or his representatives -- has even broached the impending subject with the team yet.

“That’s not a decision for me to make,” Dickey said after the game. “I want to continue to have the mentality that I’m entitled to nothing. That (mentality helps me work well and continue to be good at my craft. That’s a decision for the upper echelon guys to make.

“I am sure thankful, though, to be building equity into a role here as a starter. I’m very appreciative, because I’ve put in a lot of hard work to reach this point.”

There’s little question about that. Dickey reinvented himself, morphing from a pitcher that once threw 92-mph into a knuckleballer who exerts very little energy while floating pitches that register on the radar gun at about 70-mph.

Still, he’d like to stay with the organization that gave him the chance to turn his career around at the age of 35. He truly has embraced the city of New York. And he wants to call it his home for the foreseeable future.

“Outside of the traffic, I feel like it’s a great place for me,” Dickey said. “That’s the honest answer. I enjoy the culture, the people, and the fans. They’re tough fans, but they like to win. And I get that. As a Tennessee Titan fan I can relate and empathize with their plight. But at the same time, it’s a wonderful field and a beautiful ballpark. I’ve liked the people I’ve made relationships with this season, so we’ll see what happens.”

* * *

And now for the daily update on Mets shortstop Jose Reyes.

He only was able to take six swings in the batting cage before the pain in his strained right oblique became too much to take.

“I’m not feeling too good,” said Reyes. “It’s still bothering me, especially from the left side.”

Reyes will take the day off from hitting today. But he’ll continue to throw and take ground balls.

He did say that in an emergency situation, he could hit from the right side.

“Yeah, I could if they need me to,” Reyes said.

* * *

The quote of the day came from catcher Josh Thole, who hit his second home run of the season in the sixth inning, a true shot off the facade of the second deck in right field.

“I run into one of those every once-in-a-while,” said Thole, 23, whose ratio currently stands at one homer every 57 at-bats.